Rayelle Davis, NCC, LCPC

11/04/2024

You know what’s crazy about going to grad school to become a counselor? They don’t teach you about the job of being a counselor. We learn about things like boundaries and licensure but not how to go about them. It can also be hard to know who to ask. No wonder so many pre-licensed counselors report a feeling of imposter syndrome when they are starting out in the field.

If this sounds like you, you’ll want to get your copy of Imposter Syndrome No More! An Empowering Career Guide for Professional Counselors. Consider this your guide to the counseling profession written by a counselor for counselors. This book was written with the new counselor in mind and what it is like to navigate that unique stage between graduation and licensure.

“I remember the stress of trying to find a job, learning about licensure, and navigating ethical dilemmas within supervision. I thought it was just me until I became a counselor educator and learned how prevalent this was. This book is not about counseling techniques or the business of private practice. It is about YOU becoming your best counselor self and reminding you that you are not alone!” -Rayelle

Are you married? Do you have kids?Yes. I have been married for over 25 years and have 3 grown children. I often say I know the textbook stuff about parenting and relationships but I also speak from the heart.Have you ever gone to therapy?Yes! I love this question. I first went to therapy when I was....

09/11/2024

https://a.co/d/iC3TnQx

If you are new to the world of professional counseling and feeling overwhelmed by the ways graduate school did not prepare you for the realities of the field, you are not alone. Pre-licensed counselors are especially vulnerable to predatory and toxic work environments. The counseling field lacks ...

09/02/2024

This ⬇️ is why ADHD folks burn out and then it seems like depression. You can definitely have more than one thing, but my go to is depression tends to say “I can’t get out of bed, there is no hope, life will always be hard and never get better. Why bother with getting dressed?”

ADHD burnout says “I can’t get out of bed because finding my shoes is too hard and brushing my teeth is too much. Nothing I try seems to help. I need a new system.”

06/28/2024

Tips for not being manipulated this election season

Politicians typically use emotionally charged statements to stir up fear. Without intentional effort, emotions overtake logic When we are anxious and feeling under threat our brains will be looking for safety and relief which means that whatever cure they are selling to the problems they are selling will hit our brains like a good idea and therefore we should vote for them. Idgaf about Biden vs. Trump, republican vs democrat, red vs. blue. I care deeply about people being manipulated. Regardless of who’s running for office, there are some common themes that emerge. Here are some things to look out for:

1- False dichotomy. Information is presented as though we only have two options and one of them is fully bad and one is fully good. A good example of this is “capitalism or socialism”. There are more than 2 economic systems. There also can be some middle ground between the 2 options. Instead we are presented two options only and made to believe such decisions determine the future of the country. This is false.

2- Implications of enemies. Information is presented in such a way that your brain will correlate two separate topics and merge them together as though one caused the other. This taps into that fear response that there are enemies out there you need to protect yourself from. For example- immigrants being the reason you are struggling financially, the president being the reason you are struggling financially, the war on religion/drugs/anything. The blame is shifted to whoever they say is the cause of your pain. It feels like they are helping with your pain but they aren’t. You don’t need to be told who you are enemies are. Think about it. Did you even ask? Powerful people telling you who your enemies are either don’t want you to know they are one of them or that they are powerless to actually do anything.

3- What aboutism. Common misdirection and deflection technique. Implies that if you care about something it means you don’t care about something else; also implies that what you care about indicates something definitive about you as a person. Think of much is presented to us in the form of “what about…”. Ex: disabled veterans or gay rights, gun control or free speech, addiction treatment or cancer treatment, affordable housing or genocide. You can care about more than one thing. Most people do. These things very rarely require having to choose.

4- Anything about guns, religion, abortion, free speech, the flag,the military, immigration, tax dollars. They are going for the cheap immediate emotional flooded response so that you react emotionally instead of logically. This can have us believing we are taking action against something that isn’t even a threat. We miss the real threats. Without realizing it we will sell our soul to our oppressor and feel good about it. If you find yourself upset in response to one of these topics, take some deep breaths. Turn off the news or stop scrolling. Try to be mindful of basic facts, research the actual issues and consider the source.

Happy voting. May the odds be ever in our favor.

05/06/2024

I find it interesting how many people start therapy for symptoms of anxiety or depression and soon after they start recognizing the unhealthy patterns of emotionally abusive relationships, toxic workplaces, or religious organizations that are contributing to their pain. Gee. I wonder why therapy has always been so stigmatized.